


Kendall and Shelby's Day Out

by CTayfics



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Gen, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Treat Yo' Self, background Kendall/Ivan if you squint, resident therapist Shelby, social life newbie Kendall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-08-13 18:29:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7981726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CTayfics/pseuds/CTayfics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kendall ruins her Last Good Shirt and Shelby takes her out to go shopping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kendall and Shelby's Day Out

**Author's Note:**

> This came about because of a rant that Half and I had about how Kendall and Shelby are great and need more focus, and also how Kendall has, like, one purple shirt and it's really more of an indigo than a purple.  
> This takes place sometime nebulous in Dino Super Charge before the Silver Energem shows up.  
> (Thanks for beta'ing, Half!!

Kendall had been working on the new Dino Charger for approximately seven straight hours when an errant movement from her shaking hand knocked her coffee onto her shirt. She let out an involuntary hiss, even though the coffee was long since cold. Oops.

Ivan looked up from where he was sparring with Tyler, somehow picking up on this smallest of noises. “Are you alright, Lady Morgan?” he asked, parrying Tyler’s overhead strike.

She groaned. “I’m fine, thank you, Ivan. I just ruined the top that I was planning on wearing to the curators’ conference tomorrow. Now I have nothing to wear, and a mess to clean up.”

Shelby handed her a wad of paper towels, and Kendall mournfully cleaned up the remains of what was supposed to be her breakfast for that day. She dropped the dirty paper towels into the trash can that was always by her desk-necessary, after a mishap involving the first Dino Blaze Charger.

Shelby pulled Kendall aside and whispered, “That’s it, I’m taking you shopping.”

Alarmed, Kendall darted a glance around the room and whispered, “No. Absolutely not.”

Shelby rolled her eyes and followed Kendall over to the kitchenette, where they grabbed wet paper towels to and try to save her shirt. “Look, I’m not trying to be rude. You said that this is your last shirt. I know that you have a big important conference tomorrow, and you care about how you present yourself.” Kendall looked up uncertainly as she blotted the coffee stain. “I also know that, if I—we—don’t do something about this, you’re going to sit here and work on the new Charger until you have to leave for the conference tomorrow,” Shelby continued. “Plus, when is the last time that you actually did something for yourself?”

Kendall finished wiping her shirt and sighed in resignation. “Okay. Let’s go.”

As Shelby gaped at her in shock, Kendall turned back to the room at large. “Riley, would you please keep debugging the Tapejara Charger? Tyler, you’re in charge in case anything happens. Make sure that Chase and Koda aren’t trying to skip out of their shifts. Let us know if anything drastic happens.”

Tyler looked up from their practice, saber at his side. “Why? What’s up?”

“Shelby and I are going shopping,” she said.

It was like one of Sledge’s monsters had stopped time. Ivan, about to swing at the unsuspecting Tyler, stopped his blade. Riley paused in his typing at the secondary laptop. Shelby was still staring open-mouthed like a fish.

“Um…okay. Bye. We’ll be back later,” she muttered, grabbing her purse on her way out of the lab. Shelby hurried behind her as a cheerful “Have a good time!” echoed back up the hallway from Ivan. Kendall bit back a smile.

 

“So, um, where are we going to go?” Shelby said as they walked into the bright sunlight of the parking lot. Kendall unlocked her car with a beep and they got in.

“I need to stop by my place first, so I can change, but then I figured we’d just go to the mall,” she said as they buckled and turned out of the museum’s staff lot. “I know it’s not the best selection, but it’s cheap and it’s not that far away.” She sighed as she turned her blinker on. “I don’t want to be in the next county or two over if there’s an attack.”

Shelby blinked. “But…you told Tyler that he was in charge. And they’ve got Chargers for everyone’s zords, even ours?”

Kendall turned to Shelby. “Does that mean that you think the other Rangers are perfectly infallible and are capable of handling themselves in every possible emergency?”

Shelby thought about it for a second and smirked. “No. Remember when Bones took their courage, and they practically jumped out of their skins at that mouse?”

“My point exactly.”

They were silent for a few more minutes. Finally Shelby had to ask, “Hey, uh, Miss Morgan?”

“Yes?”

“What made you say yes to going shopping?” When the other Ranger didn’t answer, she continued, “I mean, you’re not, well, unfriendly, but this is getting to be ‘alien-body-swapped’ levels of deviation from the normal. Also, you left the new Charger when it wasn’t done yet. Normally you only do that if you fall asleep or if there’s an attack.”

Kendall paused a moment, and then said, “I did my research.”

“On what? Store websites? Sleep deprivation compared to the loss of dexterity as affected by triple-shot espressos?”

Kendall pursed her lips. “No. On teamwork, and on the benefits a team can gain when its members spend time together and bond…and the potential losses that can occur when that bond is not present.”

Shelby was at a loss for words.

“I know that I have been…well, cold is probably a generous term for it, towards you and the other Rangers. _Especially_ you, at times. I intend to rectify this mistake, and I saw this trip as a good way of continuing the process.” Kendall paused. “Well, that, and I really do need a new shirt,” she muttered as the parked in the parking lot of a fairly nice-looking apartment complex.

 

“ _This_ is where you live?” Shelby wondered as they got out and went inside. “I thought that scientists who don’t go industrial didn’t make money?”

Kendall unlocked the door to #22B. “Usually they don’t, but the museum has some pretty good donors, and I’m able to use some scholarship money to help pay for it.” She hung her purse up by the door and walked through the entryway. “Have a seat, I won’t be very long.”

Shelby walked into what might have been the neatest apartment that she’d ever seen, which made sense, considering the state that the Dino Lab was usually in. It was pretty simple—kitchen, an island with bar stools, a sofa and chairs that had seen better days, and a whiteboard with a timeline of prehistoric eras sketched on it above the sofa. There was also an entertainment center with a surprisingly large collection of DVD’s. Shelby was tickled to find “When Dinosaurs Roamed America” next to “Jurassic Park” and “Denver, the Last Dinosaur.”

“Okay, let’s go, Shelby,” Kendall said as she walked back into the living area, now wearing a V-neck instead of the coffee-destroyed shirt of earlier. “Wait, are you looking through my DVD’s?”

Shelby shrugged. “Hey, no judgment. Everyone has to start loving dinosaurs somewhere,” she said as they walked back out of the apartment. “Unless you were going to say that Barney made you love dinosaurs, then we’d have a problem. Even though Barney _is_ purple.”

“Oh, no. Definitely not,” she said as they buckled and backed out of the parking lot, heading towards the mall.

Once again, there was silence inside Kendall’s sensible car, until Shelby said, “Look, if you’re worried that the others will make fun about you being unprofessional for watching old cartoons about dinosaurs…I’m not planning on telling them.”

Kendall paused at a stop sign. “That wasn’t really one of my concerns, but thank you. I do appreciate that.”

 

When they finally parked at the mall, Shelby bounded out of the car excitedly. “So, where were you planning on going exactly?”

“Just the business-clothes store, really. I only need the one shirt,” Kendall shrugged as they walked into the mall.

“But that negates the entire point of going to the mall!” Shelby exclaimed. “The point is to find stuff that you didn’t know that you needed!”

“Such as remote-control camera drones, when I could probably make my own for much cheaper than they’re being sold?” Kendall said dryly as they passed a stand selling just that.

“Exactly!” Shelby said, ignoring the glare of the vendor. “But first, I’m hungry. Are you hungry?”

“No, I’m fine, thank y—“ Kendall started to say before she was betrayed by the rumble of her stomach.

“Your stomach says yes. We’re getting smoothies. I’m buying,” Shelby said as she strode towards the food court. Kendall sighed and followed Shelby, wondering, not for the first time, what exactly she had gotten herself into.

At the Ernie’s Brain Freeze stand, Shelby turned to the other woman. “Do you have any objections to kale or greens in a smoothie?”

Kendall balked. “Besides _why?_ I’m not allergic, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Shelby ordered and paid for two large smoothies, and then turned back to Kendall, saying, “Because I know that our line of work means an increased metabolism. And also that you’ve pretty much been subsisting off of espresso, nutrient bars and grill food since everything started happening.”

“You…noticed?”

Shelby rolled her eyes. “Yes, Miss Morgan. All of us noticed. We even had a bet for a while about who was going to get you to eat healthily first. Chase advocated trying to hook you up to an IV nutrient drip, but after Operation Storm the Castle, we pretty much gave up.”

Awed, Kendall didn’t say anything except “thank you” when the worker handed them their smoothies. Kendall got the green one, and Shelby got the brown one. She took a sip. “This is surprisingly good, even if it has vegetables in it,” she told Shelby.

“I know, right?” Shelby said, taking a sip of her own smoothie. “It’s a great power boost, after a workout, or a day at the museum.” She grabbed two spoons and they walked toward the rest of the mall. “I come here probably too much.”

Shelby’s right; Kendall does feel better, especially since she’s a little ashamed of how this is the healthiest thing she’s eaten in months. They wandered past the fronts of stores, advertising “Sale!!!! 40% off everything!!!” and “Discount if you show us your team!!”

 

By the time they reached the businesswear store, the smoothie cups had been scraped clean and thrown in the nearest recycling bin.

“So, what exactly are you looking for?” Shelby asked as they snuck away from the overly enthusiastic greeter. “Like, tops, skirts, dresses, what?”

Kendall frowned over the blouses on the rack. “I really just need a shirt to replace the one I ruined earlier, that’s all. “

“Okay, but what kind of shirt? Do you need something sleeveless? Collared? Patterns or not?”

“Um…” Kendall muttered, flipping through the options on the rack. “Probably collared, although I’m not opposed to collarless shirts. Maybe no patterns?”

“Can do,” Shelby grinned and headed off to another clothing rack.

Working together, they combed the store and managed to find Kendall three shirts, all of which were suitable for her conference the next day, and two of which were very purple.

As they walked out of the store, purchases safely tucked away, Kendall turned to Shelby and asked, “Did you find those purple shirts on purpose? Is that why you brought me here in the first place?”

“Well….” Shelby stalled, and when Kendall’s eyes narrowed, she explained, “I did want to help you, but you _do_ need to wear more purple. It’s your color, after all, and even Ivan manages to wear gold most of the time. You have, like, one purple shirt and that’s it.”

“That doesn’t mean that I _should_ wear more purple. I don’t think advertising my position to the whole world by suddenly changing my wardrobe is a good idea,” Kendall argued.

“I’m just saying,” Shelby said, throwing her hands up in the air as she detoured into a nearby department store “that the team kind of has a theme going, and you’re the only one not following the theme.”

Kendall rolled her eyes, and followed Shelby into the store. “And what are we in here for, exactly?” she asked. “I found two more shirts than I came in here needing, we can leave whenever.”

“I won’t push more purple clothes on you, but as long as you’re in the mood to actually spend money on yourself, I’m willing to bet that you don’t have any casual clothes,” Shelby said as she led the way back to the women’s apparel.

“I do too,” Kendall argued. “There’s just not any reason to wear them at the museum.”

“Well, what about dates?”

“I don’t go on dates,” Kendall said softly, “There’s no time for that. The situation is unreliable enough as it is, and I—we all—have duties to attend to.”

Shelby looked at her, frowning. “But that’s no reason to stint your social life. Look at Chase: even with everything going on, he still has time to date every single girl in Amber Beach that notices his accent.”

“Except you and I.”

“Well, that’s different. We’re teammates, and coworkers too.”

Kendall nodded at that, resigning herself to more clothes shopping and thinking of a different teammate.

Glancing at her, Shelby whispered, “I bet Ivan would be willing to look past the teammates thing.”

Kendall looked up in alarm. “What do you mean?”

Shelby rolled her eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. “Oh, nothing at all, Miss Morgan. Just that our knight in shining armor seems to have taken a shine to you.”

Burying herself in a stack of soft, folded shirts to hide her growing blush, Kendall said, “Don’t publish your theories before they have adequate evidence, Shelby. It’s not the mark of a good scientist.”

From behind her, she could hear Shelby sigh, “Okay, never mind. Point taken. Now, what do you think of this shirt? You could wear it and come train with us,” as she held up a tank top.

“That would be nice,” Kendall smiled.

 

They ended up being delayed at the department store, because Shelby piled a load of clothes into Kendall’s arms and shoved her toward the changing room. Kendall found a few more things from the mass of clothes—a dress, a blouse, a soft hoodie, all in conspicuous shades of purple.

She met Shelby at the entrance to the store, after checking out with her items. Shelby was also tucking a bag from the store into her purse.

“What did you end up buying, Shelby?” she asked. Shelby jumped a little.

“Oh, nothing. They had a shirt with a pink dinosaur on it, so I had to buy it,” she laughed. “So, where do you want to go next?”

Kendall looked at her a little weird, but let it go as they left the store. “I really don’t need anything else, Shelby. I already have more than enough new clothes. My wardrobe is significantly more colorful than it was when we left earlier today, by the way.”

“Good. You wear too many neutrals,” she said as they meandered by a salon. “How about getting our nails done?”

“Impractical. Basic lab safety requires closed-toed shoes, both the archaeological work and the engineering work are murder on nails, and besides,” Kendall continued in a lower voice, “our other line of work involves too much hand-to-hand for any kind of manicure or pedicure to last long enough to merit getting one in the first place.”

“I guess I can understand that,” Shelby said as they walked toward the toy store. “Do you feel like going into the toy store?”

“Not especially.”

“That’s fine with me. I had to drag Ivan out of there when I took _him_ shopping. He wouldn’t stop playing with the lightsabers and challenging other shoppers. I’m just glad he didn’t find the kids’ dress-up armor,” Shelby mentioned.

Kendall smiled. “I could see him complaining about how it isn’t structurally sound, or how it was made incorrectly.”

“Exactly,” Shelby said as they reached what appeared to be the end of the mall’s long hallway. “Well, is there anything else that you might want to do while we’re here? Clothes are obviously out. You don’t want to look at the toy store, or get your nails done, and I’m not even going to try and take you to the video game store.”

Guiltily, Kendall looked behind Shelby. “There is _one_ place we could go…”

Turning, Shelby realized what they had stopped in front of: the bookstore. The glorious, well-lit bookstore with a café tucked into one corner. She looked back at Kendall, who smiled sheepishly.

“Okay, let’s go,” Shelby grinned. “Let’s get some food first, though, I’m hungry again.”

 

As they walked into the bookstore and toward the café, Shelby took out her phone. “I’m going to text Tyler and let him know that we’re going to be here if they need us.”

“Sounds good,” Kendall said, eyeing the menu. “Sandwich and a pastry okay with you?”

“Yeah, that sounds great. Chicken, please,” Shelby said, eyes on her phone. “Wait, what? I can pay for my own food, Miss Morgan! You don’t have to do that.”

The order placed, it was Kendall’s turn to tell Shelby, “It’s my treat. I appreciate you dragging me out of the museum. I’m not the best with taking time for myself, but I’m glad that you convinced me to come here.” She took their food from the café worker and they sat down.

“I think that was a ‘thank you,’” Shelby smiled, “so you’re welcome. It was nice to get away from the museum for a day.”

Her phone made a tiny roaring sound, and Shelby looked down at it.

“ _Please_ tell me that’s not the tone that you have set for when Tyler texts you,” Kendall sighed as she dug into her sandwich.

“Okay, I won’t tell you,” Shelby said amiably as she typed a response. “He said that they found life signs by the warehouse district, they’re going to go check it out. Riley finished the new Charger, but he’s waiting on you to give the final okay.”

“That’s very kind of them. Tell them thank you, and good luck.”

“Already did,” Shelby said as she set her phone back in her bag and picked up her wrap. She took a bite as Kendall started on her scone. “Oh, and by the way, thank you for buying the food this time. I know that museum directors don’t make that much, and you said that it goes towards your apartment too.”

Kendall sighed and sat back in her chair. “You’re welcome,” she said. “It’s not that big of a deal. My family takes care of any extra expenses that I might have.”

Shelby looked at her in confusion, finishing off her wrap.

“Shelby, you know that my family owns the museum, right?”

“ _What?!”_

“It’s true,” Kendall shrugged. “I don’t like to rely on them, though. We’re not close. It’s just nice to have money not be an issue. Plus, I get to write off a lot of our tech costs as ‘museum expenses,” and nobody’s the wiser.”

“Wow, that’s just…wow. I had no idea,” she said honestly. They gathered up their trash and threw it away as they wandered into the shelves of books. “We both have backgrounds with a big family business. You’d think that we’d have bonded over this before.”

“We can, later,” Kendall said. “Right now, I don’t know about you, but I have books to read.”

Shelby shook her head and smiled as Kendall began to gather armfuls of books from every department, and she did likewise. They settled in a secluded reading nook, stacks of books on the table and chairs around them.

 

They read there for a while, paging through their chosen books, until the serene silence was broken by their Dino Comms going off. Digging them out of their purses, Shelby and Tyler flipped them open to see Tyler, morphed, clearly in the Megazord cockpit. The video was shaky and they could hear explosions.

“Tyler, what’s going on?” Shelby asked, leaning as close to her Comm as she could.

“Turns out the bio-signs we found was actually a small army,” he gasped. “We took out most of them, but they managed to make three of the aliens big. Can you guys come help?” In the background, they heard Chase yell, “On your left, mate!” as a whistling noise sounded from the Comm.

Shelby and Kendall looked at each other and sighed. “Yes, we’ll be there as soon as we can, Tyler,” Kendall said.

“Great! Thanks!” he cried and ended the call.

Sadly closing their books, the two women set their books back on the tables and left the bookstore as quickly as they could without creating suspicion.

“Well, at least it was fun while it lasted,” Kendall muttered as they speed-walked to her car.

At that, Shelby laughed. “Did I just hear Kendall Morgan admit to having fun doing something that isn’t cataloging fossils?”

“Yes. Even though the clothes shopping was a little tedious, I did have a good time today, Shelby,” Kendall said as they finally exited the mall. “Thank you. I did appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, Miss Morgan,” Shelby grinned.

“You know, you _can_ call me Kendall.  We've reached that point,” she said as they threw their bags into the back of her car. She slid into the driver’s seat. “Get in!”

“Um…okay,” Shelby said as she buckled in. “Miss Mor--Kendall, why are we driving? We can just morph and fly there in the Plesiozord!”

Kendall glanced over at Shelby as they peeled out of the parking lot, much faster than they had left hours previously. “This area is way too crowded for us to morph. Unless you feel like letting _everyone_ in Amber Beach know about us being Power Rangers?”

“I guess you’re right,” Shelby gulped as the car drastically accelerated. “But do we have to go so fast?”

“Yes,” Kendall gritted her teeth, “If we want to be in time to rescue Ivan and Tyler and the others, that is.”

Shelby shut up and let her drive.

Finally, they parked in a lot that Kendall judged to be secret enough. They spilled out of the car and grabbed their Dino Chargers.

“Are you ready, Shelby?” Kendall asked.

“Ready, Kendall,” Shelby said.

_“It’s morphin’ time!”_


End file.
